


Summoned but not Expected

by Acexual_Attorney



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Demons, Demon Wen Jun Hui, M/M, Minor Character Death, Tumblr Prompt, also very brief mentions of amber x ailee bc i love my gay moms, its not even someone u meet tho its mentioned, very brief mentions of homophobia and racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 18:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11041683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acexual_Attorney/pseuds/Acexual_Attorney
Summary: Jihoon had dealt with a lot of different types of demons in the past, but Junhui was definitely something special





	Summoned but not Expected

**Author's Note:**

> [bluebaki](http://bluebaki.tumblr.com/) said: Hello~ I wondered if you could write Junhoon where Jihoon summons demon Jun to kill someone for him. Jihoon gets irritated because Jun is so happy go lucky while Jun thinks Jihoon is adorable. Any rating you feel like haha
> 
> i hate how long this took me im so sorry
> 
> and this isnt proofread so i know my verb tenses are all over the place im sorry (;^_^A

Gray smoke filled the air, making Jihoon’s eyes water and his throat itch, but as it cleared, he could make out a vague moving shape. Before he could get a better look, the shape morphed and shifted into an anthropomorphic figure, barely visible in the moonlight.

Jihoon squinted up at the tall figure in front of him. The smoke from the incantation settling around them enough for Jihoon to actually see and the smell of burning incense was starting to blow away in the wind. The figure blinked down at Jihoon, tilting his head to the side curiously.

He was tall, way taller than Jihoon had expected. His skin was tan, mirroring the shade of sand at high tide, and his black hair shone in the weak light. Shimmering scales scattered across his arms and chest, dipping low on his skin and disappearing behind the loose dark blue hanfu he was wearing. The skin of his fingers turned black where they morphed to sharp nails and his eyes were rimmed with light red, contrasting against the void of his irises.

“I swear to god, if you’re an incubus, I’m going to hell just to file a complaint,” Jihoon deadpanned.

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not,” the demon said. He looked amused, if slightly confused, pressing a clawed hand to his chest.

“It means you’re hot. Demons aren’t supposed to be  _ hot _ ,” Jihoon said. He stood up, knees creaking from kneeling for so long. His pants were wet from being in the dewy grass and were most likely stained from the chlorophyll.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that, but thank you,” the demon said as Jihoon started to blow out the candles. He bowed and continued, “I’m Wen Junhui, Great Duke of Hell and King of the Seas, how may I-”

“Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, I really don’t, but this isn’t my first time summoning a demon. I know who you are, you don’t need to introduce yourself. I just- can we please just go inside and discuss what our deal will be?” Jihoon asked as he placed Junhui’s sigil in his book.

Junhui frowned as he straightened up from his bow. “Okay…”

Jihoon picked up the still smoldering candles and incense and stacked them on top of his book to carry them inside. Junhui followed him into his apartment building and up the stairs.

“Isn’t it a little dangerous to summon a demon out in the open? What if someone saw you?” Junhui asked as they walked into Jihoon’s small apartment.

“The cameras on the right side of the building don’t work anymore and no one is awake at three in the morning on a school night. I’m not an idiot.” Jihoon sat his things down on the counter and turned to Junhui, “Let’s get started.”

“Alright,” Junhui said slowly. He had never met a human so blunt in the presence of a demon, but there’s a first time for everything, so he continued, “You don’t look like a fisherman, so I’m guessing you want me to kill someone.”

Jihoon nodded. “I need you to kill this kid from my chem class. I have some of his DNA if you need it.”

“I don’t need DNA; I can figure out who he is. It’ll take up to three days, though, so what are you going to give me in return?” Junhui asked.

“What do you want?”

Junhui smiled, teeth sharp and a glint in his eyes. “I’ll take whatever you give me,” he said, voice purposefully silky. It made Jihoon feel deceptively calm.

He narrowed his eyes at Junhui. “Are you sure you’re not an incubus?”

“The ocean gets lonely sometimes,” Junhui shrugged, “But if you really need it, I can give you time to figure what you want to give me. I’m a pretty flexibly entity.”

Jihoon mumbled something to himself, then sighed. “Yeah, okay,” he nodded.

“We’ll be in touch.” Junhui smiled a cat-like grin, eyes glowing as he tapped Jihoon’s temple. Jihoon flinched away from the touch, mostly because Junhui’s nails  _ hurt _ , and when he opened his eyes again, Junhui was gone.

“Fucking demons,” Jihoon murmured aloud to the empty room.

 

* * *

 

For experienced demon summoners like Jihoon, it was normal for the demon to communicate with the human through a telepathic connection, even after the deal was complete and the demon went back to their realm. Jihoon was used to this. He was used to the low whispers of the past demons that he summoned and even became accustomed to tuning them out when he needed to concentrate.

The only problem was that Junhui is a very incessant and very  _ loud _ demon. His noise was constant and grated against Jihoon’s conscience to the point of there being a never ending ringing in his ears. It had barely even been 6 hours and Jihoon was already getting a headache.

“ _ Please _ ,” Jihoon thought loudly, eyes pressed closed and trying to sink deeper into his bed, “ _ I have a class in three hours, just let me sleep _ .”

The noise in Jihoon’s head stopped, and Jihoon let out a sigh before the bed dipped and his eyes snapped open. Junhui was kneeling at the foot of Jihoon’s bed, tongue poking out of his wicked grin.

Jihoon scowled down at Junhui. “You better be here to tell me that he’s dead,” he said, absolutely refusing to move.

“Don’t worry, he is!” Junhui nodded enthusiastically, grin turning into a proud smile.

“Then  _ why _ are you here?” Jihoon asked.

“You still need to give me something in exchange,” Junhui reminded him.

Jihoon’s head fell back into his pillow, a low groan in protest leaving the back of his throat. “Can’t we discuss this later? I have class in three hours and I’d like to  _ sleep _ .”

“Whatever you say, Jihoon-ssi, but just know that if you don’t make a proper deal with me I have full rights to make your life a living hell,” Junhui said in a sing-song voice that was way too chipper considering the heavy threat of his words.

_ Shit _ , Jihoon almost forgot about that.

“I’ll think of something, okay,” Jihoon huffed air out of his nose as he rubbed both of his eyes. “I’ll tell you later today what I can give you or something.”

He expected that when he would open his eyes, Junhui would be gone and that would be the end of their conversation, but when he lowered his hands, he was still there, and his shoulders slumped. “What is it now?” he asked. He was so tired, he just wanted to go back to sleep.

Junhui’s grin widened and he leaned forward, resting his upper body weight on one hand that pressed down into the bed closer to Jihoon’s leg than he was comfortable with. He stuck out his tongue and tilted his head and suddenly Jihoon was reminded of a puppy, a very demonic puppy, but a puppy nonetheless, and he just had to wonder where the universe went wrong to allow a literal being from hell to be cute.

“I was wondering what you’re majoring in,” Junhui said in a voice so conversational it was almost like he wasn’t sitting on Jihoon’s bed in a blue outdated hanfu with black void drifting around his aura.

Demon’s were weird, Jihoon should have known that by now.

“Uh… music theory?” Jihoon hesitated to answer and eyed the door while he spoke. He could run, let the demon stay in his bed all he wants and doze on the couch instead, but he’s lightheaded from lack of sleep and- honestly- if he really wanted to, Junhui could just follow Jihoon and continue to pester him.

Junhui made a delighted noise, completely ignoring Jihoon’s discomfort in favor of scooting closer to Jihoon asking, “Do you make music?”

“Technically, yeah,” Jihoon answered as he shrunk away from Junhui.

Junhui didn’t seem to get the message, because he continued invading Jihoon’s personal space by leaning forward and asking, “Are you making anything right now?”

The strange thing wasn’t Junhui being so close. Jihoon was used to demons invading his space because none of them seemed to have a sense of personal space, constantly drifting over his shoulder and whispering things into his ear. The weird this was that Junhui sounded actually interested in what Jihoon was going to say. He was listening intently for Jihoon’s answer and kept his eyes on Jihoon’s face, unblinking.

It made Jihoon uncomfortable, so he just nodded.

Junhui’s smile was wide and almost feral as he hummed out if happiness. “I love music. You should let me listen to what you’re making some time.”

Jihoon just wanted to go back to sleep. He wanted to sink back into his bed and let his dreams dominate his mind until he had to get up for his classes. He didn't want to see the sun until it was high in the sky and well after noon.

He wanted Junhui to  _ leave _ .

So, with the hope of his answer satisfying the demon enough for him to get the hell out of Jihoon’s apartment, he shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

Junhui’s smile turned soft for a split second before he was gone. It felt like there was a hole in the space that he used to occupy, but Jihoon was too tired to dwell on it, so with a sigh of relief, he buried himself back under his blanket and tried to squeeze as much sleep as he could in the two and a half hours he had before class.

 

* * *

 

 

For the love of  _ god _ why was Junhui here. Jihoon almost slammed his head onto the table when he saw the demon floating over his professor’s head, making silly faces. He had to take a deep breath and pretend to pay attention to his professor because, if he had any hope of passing advanced lit with a relatively good grade, he really needed to take notes but  _ goddamn _ was Junhui making this hard.

Class ended very slowly, and Jihoon swore he could hear every single  _ tick-tick-tick _ of the second hand on the classroom’s clock while he cursed Junhui out in his head with every curse word he knew.

“You know,” Junhui said conversationally as soon as the professor dismissed them, “I’ve never been called ‘a sonofabitch with no regard for other people, i hope no one summons him for the next five centuries’ before.”

All Jihoon could do is glare and scowl at him as he put his notebooks into his bag or else people would think he was talking to himself.

Junhui hummed happily, a finger pressed to his grinning lips. “You sure do frown a lot for someone with such a cute face.”

Jihoon’s scowl deepened. He forcefully slung his bag over his shoulder, almost taking out a desk in the process, just to show how fed up with Junhui’s shit he was.

“That’s rude,” was Junhui’s only comment, laughing when Jihoon shot another unamused look his way. “I decided to take very valuable time out of my day to come and see what our deal could be and here you are, ignoring me,” he tsked, “Typical human.”

Jihoon took a deep breath to try and lower his rising blood pressure to make sure he didn’t have a stress-induced panic attack in the middle of an emptying classroom. It happened once before, and he had to be escorted from the room while he was a sniffling and anxiety-stricken mess by a poor student aid that surely wasn’t getting enough sleep. Yeah, not fun.

“ _ At least let me get back to my apartment _ ,” he thought. Junhui had only been talking to him for less than a minute and Jihoon could feel himself getting a tired headache. He was thankful he didn’t have another class until 3:30, so he could hide away in his house and finish a deal with a demon that honestly seemed way too happy-go-lucky for Jihoon to feel any sort of comfort.

His walk home from campus seemed to take way longer than usual, especially with Junhui chattering in his ear, asking questions about this and that, if humans still have a world war going on, what’s that huge building over there, and, hey, is that a plane? Last time I saw one of those, they were way more rickety.

And then Junhui proceeded to tell him about the weird antics that happened in the 1920s, because that was the last time he’d been on earth. He talked about American flappers riding on top of airplanes and swindling gang bosses out of their beer. He talked about the horrendous depression in Germany and the growing scheme of Hitler. The rising tension in Japan wanting to take over Asia and Italy’s fascist leanings. He said that, with all of that on top of the League of Nations letting it happen, he was surprised no humans saw the war coming.

All of it was interesting, and honestly, Jihoon wouldn’t mind hearing Junhui talk about his first-hand accounts of human history through an all-knowing demon. He even wanted to tell Junhui how things have changed, how the UN has formed since then and America became less isolationist and Korea was split thanks to Russia’s influence, but he just let Junhui talk. Let him paint pictures of how gruesome Europe was during World War I and how they were trying to pick up the pieces afterwards, but it wasn’t as bad as America when their Depression hit.

Even after Jihoon unlocked his apartment, Junhui didn’t stop talking, continuing on about how the last person he made a deal with was an actual sailor, because you don’t really see those a lot nowadays.

“In exchange for making sure he crossed the Atlantic safely, he gave me this really pretty locket. I still have it somewhere, but that was a really hard job, considering he was on the Lusitania- I’m sure you can imagine the trouble i went through making sure he made it to shore okay-- hehe, shore. Anyways, I stayed on earth for a little bit after that because you humans are so amusing with your trivial conflicts and determination.” Junhui paused in his ramblings for a moment, seemingly struck with a thought. “Hey, you know what? I think I know what you can give me for our deal.”

Jihoon was slightly shocked at the sudden change in topic, but gestured for Junhui to continue.

“Companionship.”

All Jihoon did was blink dumbly at Junhui, so he continued, “Well it’s awful lonely being a demon, you know, especially when I decide to stay on earth. It’s not like we can strike up conversation with a random person walking on the street, so I could talk to you instead.”

Jihoon narrowed his eyes in half suspicion and half thought. “For how long?” He asked.

“Well, seeing as time is a meaningless concept that I don’t really have a grasp on, how about a month or two? Is that reasonable?” Junhui tilted his head with the inquiry, smiling like he was proud of himself for coming up with the idea. Jihoon  _ really _ had to try prevent himself from cringing.

“Yeah, okay, I guess,” Jihoon nodded in agreement, “two months you get to talk to me, but I do have to warn you that I’m not the best at conversations.”

“It’s a deal,” Junhui grinned and stuck out his hand for Jihoon to shake. Jihoon took it, and the familiar rush of energy that shot through him with a contract being made made his eyes widen just slightly. “It’ll be pleasure doing business with you,” Junhui said before blinking out of existence, leaving Jihoon grasping at nothing and an emptiness taking over the space Junhui once filled.

Jihoon would never get used to that.

 

 

* * *

It took exactly three days for Junhui to push Jihoon past the breaking point of if he would show the demon his project for music theory. Jihoon had put it off for as long as he could tolerate Junhui’s persistence, but it turns out that Junhui knows exactly how to push Jihoon’s buttons. It’s not like he was refusing out of ill will towards him, but Jihoon is just a perfectionist at heart and loathes anyone looking (or listening, rather) to his work before he deems it done.

So, with a reluctant sigh, Jihoon pulled up the program on his computer and messed with the settings for a few minutes to buy as much time as possible.

“Come  _ on _ ,” Junhui whined and Jihoon had to clench his teeth so he wouldn’t throw his laptop out the window.

Jihoon sighed one final time before pressing play, letting soft piano music and the gentle combination of cellos and french horns barely drift past his half-broken speakers and die off somewhere between Jihoon’s position at his desk and the door to his bedroom. Junhui didn’t seem to mind the quietness and low quality of the music, just rocking  his head to the harmonies brought in my Jihoon’s own recorded voice on a microphone borrowed from the university’s music department.

The song was short, only lasting a minute and a half, but then again, it was just a small project and had a lot of buffing to do before he could present it to his professor with any sort of confidence. Junhui didn’t seem to mind, though, just beaming at Jihoon with an overly-bright smile.

“That’s really good!” He said. Jihoon frowned, partially because he couldn’t decipher if Junhui was lying or not and partially because he had never really gotten praise on a project. More because he never showed his projects to anyone except his teachers than that he wasn’t good at composing.

“Like,  _ really _ good,” Junhui repeated himself, like the echo of his former praise would somehow break through the wall that is Jihoon’s own dubiousness.

“Thanks, I guess,” Jihoon shrugged and exited out of the program. He was fully aware he could take the chance to clean up the song since he was already on his computer, but if there was anything Jihoon was more than a perfectionist, it would be a procrastinator.

“You should become a producer or composer or something,” Junhui said, trying to keep the conversation- that Jihoon was so desperately trying to murder- alive.

“I plan on it,” was Jihoon’s only answer, and, yeah, maybe he didn’t get enough sleep last night and that’s why he’s acting a little bit like a dick, but Junhui didn’t seem to mind. Jihoon had to wonder how someone, demon or not, could be so carefree.

 

* * *

 

Jihoon didn’t expect to wake up to Junhui’s face less than three centimeters away from his own.

“What the  _ fuck _ ,” Jihoon groaned and rolled over to glance at his alarm clock. 3:37 am. Fuck.

Well, at least he didn’t have classes today, so he could make up the lost sleep later.

“What do you want?” Jihoon asked, voice muffled from where his mouth was currently squished against his pillow.

Junhui giggled and pulled away from Jihoon’s head-  _ thank god _ \- to say, “I was hoping you could show me around town.”

Jihoon made a noise very similar to a dying coyote and pushed back his hair away from his eyes. “Can’t you do that yourself?” He asked, “It’s not even 5 am and it’s dark out, I might get mugged this early in the morning.”

Junhui pouted and Jihoon could feel every fiber of his being burning with disinterest.

“Fuck off, we can go out at 9- you know, when the sun is actually up and I have a significantly less chance of getting my ass killed,” Jihoon said, rolling over to signal that he was done with the conversation and nothing Junhui could say would get him out of bed.

“But I’m  _ bored _ ,” Junhui whined-  _ whined _ , sounding very much like a ten-year-old on summer break who is willing to do anything except their chores.

“You are a  _ demon _ ,” Jihoon said back in complete disbelief, “You can do anything you want without repercussions, why the hell are you bored and why are you coming to me to help you?”

“Loneliness is a horrible disease, Jihoon,” Junhui said, voice suddenly sombering to the point that Jihoon almost turned back over to see if the demon was okay, but Junhui seemed to break out of the whatever grim trance held him for that split second and went back to his usual headache-inducing cheery voice. “So help me not be lonely by showing me your university,” he tugged at Jihoon’s shoulder and Jihoon never wanted death more in his young life.

“Wen Junhui!” Jihoon snapped and Junhui flinched back. He knew he shouldn’t, but Jihoon felt bad, at least a little bit, so he sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “Junhui,” he retried, voice more gentle to try and coax Junhui out of the shock he seemed to be experiencing, “It’s 3:30 am. I’m not going outside because I need sleep. I am a  _ human _ , I need sleep to live and function, so  _ please _ let me sleep. I can show you my campus tomorrow when I actually have classes and I can show you around town later today if you really want me to, but first I need to go to sleep so I don’t look or feel like a zombie.”

Junhui blinked at Jihoon for a few seconds before nodding. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t realize. I’ll let you sleep.”

His tone was different, slightly cold and hurt, but he did seem remorseful, and Jihoon felt a pang of regret. He shouldn’t but he was tired and he never thought right when tired, so he gave Junhui a tight smile and said as nicely as he could without coming off as an asshole, “If you really want the company, you can stay here. You can talk me to sleep I guess, as long as you’re not too loud, if you really want to.”

Junhui’s face lit back up and Jihoon swore he saw him vibrating from happiness because of how much the bed was suddenly shaking. “Really? Thank you! I’ll try not to be too loud!”

Jihoon’s fake smile subtly morphed into something softer, more content, before he slid back under his blanket and closed his eyes. Junhui’s gentle voice drifted in and out consciousness, weaving stories about prehistoric China and setting up Jihoon’s dreams to contain now-extinct water dragons and the beauty of the Pacific at sunset.

 

(When Jihoon finally did show Junhui around town later that day, he wouldn’t stop oo-ing and ah-ing at the tall and worn down buildings. He seemed to hang onto every word, even the boring ones, like where Jihoon liked to get coffee before class and where a great Korean BBQ place was. And he was the same the day after when Jihoon gave Junhui a small tour of UCLA’s campus, and Jihoon tried to hide how Junhui’s enthusiasm made him smile.)

 

* * *

 

“I’m going out with friends this afternoon, so I probably won’t be able to talk to you until 5.”

Junhui blinked slowly at Jihoon, confusion masking his face, until he asked, “You have friends?”

Jihoon scowled and flicked a torn piece of paper at him. It soared right past Junhui and bounced off the wall, landing on the floor where it would stay for a few weeks until Jihoon did his monthly cleaning to make sure nothing died in his appartment.

“I do, thank you very much, and we’re going to a café later today, so you can suck my ass,” Jihoon huffed and turned back to his computer so he could actually finish his essay before going out.

“Talking to a demon like that just might send you straight to hell,” Junhui tsked, crossing his arms in disapproval.

Jihoon mumbled something that sounded like “I’m already living in it,” as he hunched over his laptop and research papers, making his back look similar to Quasimodo’s. Junhui laughed, Jihoon rolled his eyes.

It took a little over two hours for Jihoon to finish his essay, two hours that could have been shortened to an hour and a half if Junhui didn’t pester him so much. Jihoon had noticed that ever since Junhui started haunting him, it took longer for him to finish things since the demon loved to distract him, and apparently the same applied to walking because he was already late.

“Just tell me who you’re meeting,” Junhui persisted, repeating himself for the fifth time since Jihoon left his apartment.

“ _ They’re just friends I met when I moved here _ ,” Jihoon thought as he glanced down the road, waiting for a chance to cross the street.

“Just friends” was a bit of an understatement, though. He was meeting with two friends to be exact: Joshua and Amy. Joshua had been a huge help when Jihoon moved from Korea to LA to attend college, helping him understand certain English phrases and translating for him when someone spoke too fast. He doesn’t really need Joshua’s help any more considering he’s basically fluent, but Jihoon still hung out with him when his job allowed. Amy was another Korean-American he met in one of his music classes. She didn’t know Korean as well as Joshua, but they still hit it off. Even though she was a senior when Jihoon met her as a freshman, they became close from their mutual love for music.

“That’s cute,” Junhui cooed, and Jihoon may have jumped. He forgot Junhui could listen to his thoughts sometimes.

Before Jihoon could retort, he spotted the café and Joshua and Amy waiting inside, so instead he picked up his pace, ignoring Junhui’s laugh.

“Sorry I’m late,” Jihoon said as he slide into the booth opposite of his friends, slightly out of breath. “I got distracted.”

“It’s fine,” Amy smiled gently, “How’s your project going?”

Jihoon shrugged, making a vague “eh” sound, meaning that it would probably get an A, but he wasn’t personally satisfied yet. “How’s your job hunt going?”

Amy almost jumped out of her seat from excitement, eyes lighting up in pure joy. “You know that gay bar not too far from here?” She didn’t wait for Jihoon to confirm before continuing, “Well, I was able to convince the owner to let me perform there! And-” she slung her arm around Joshua, nuzzling into his side- “our sweet Joshua agreed to accompany me as backup vocals and guitarist.”

Joshua smiled shyly at Jihoon’s quirked eyebrow. “She was desperate and I figured I could get a few guys’ numbers while I’m there,” he explained.

“I’m sure the gay scene will fall all over themselves seeing a sweet church boy playing the guitar,” Jihoon nodded.

Before Jihoon could ask Amy how in the world her girlfriend, Amber, allowed her to sing at a gay bar, knowing that she’d probably be hit on, a surprised voice broke into their conversation with a loud “Jihoonie?!”

All three turned their heads to see-

Wait.

Okay, Jihoon didn’t know Junhui could do that. Instead of his signature blue hanfu, he was wearing a plain blue shirt with jeans. Skin replaced shining scales and normal fingernails took place of his black claws, and he was very much physically there. Jihoon didn’t even notice that Junhui had been gone for the beginning of their conversation.

Amy and Joshua could very much see Junhui, blinking at him in confusion and turning towards Jihoon for explanation. Jihoon had half a mind to ignore Junhui, but then he slid into the booth next to Jihoon, pressing against his side and making it seem like they were the best of friends.

While Jihoon glowered, Joshua coughed and asked, “Um, Jihoon, who’s your friend?”

Jihoon sighed and said, “This is Junhui, he’s a- uh- he’s a Chinese transfer student.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Junhui,” Amy smiled. She introduced herself and Joshua before asking, “How long have you and Jihoon known each other? Jihoon’s never mentioned you before.”

Junhui tapped a finger on his chin and pretended to think. “Two weeks? Just about,” he said.

“Really?” Joshua asked, “You two seem really close.”

Junhui nodded enthusiastically, saying, “We spend a lot of time together.”

Junhui was making it sound like Jihoon had hired a goddamn prostitute and he was  _ not _ here for it, continuing to glare holes into the side of Junhui’s head. If looks could kill, Junhui would be back in the seventh ring of hell.

Joshua and Amy obviously realized the tension radiated between Junhui and Jihoon, more from Jihoon’s part than anything, especially since Junhui was happily looking around the café like he didn’t have a care in the world. So, to get out of the situation as fast as possible like any sane person would, Amy said, “We’re gonna go order now, do you want anything, Junhui?” as she practically dragged Joshua out of the booth.

“No, I’m fine,” Junhui smiled, shaking his head.

As soon as Amy and Joshua were in line, Jihoon slapped Junhui’s arm and hissed, “ _ What do you think you’re doing? _ ”

Junhui frowned and rubbed his arm. “What, so I can’t want to get close to your friends now?” He sighed and look away in fake sadness. “This is such a one-sided relationship.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jihoon asked.

Instead of answering, Junhui turned back to Jihoon and cooed, “You’re so cute when you’re angry.”

 

* * *

 

It took a lot of pestering (read: alcohol) for Jihoon to stop ignoring Junhui after the café incident. Soju is strong, though, so Junhui was surprised when Jihoon moved on to his second bottle, only looking a little bit tipsy.

“You’re stressed,” Junhui noted as Jihoon lazily drank straight from the bottle, eyes unfocused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” were the first words Jihoon said to Junhui in four days, only slightly slurred.

“You’re going to try and drink your body weight’s worth in alcohol and you have a test tomorrow. I think that qualifies as stressed.”

Jihoon side-eyed Junhui and slowly set down the bottle on the kitchen table. He sniffed and turned away, resting his chin on his hand. “You don’t know that.”

“Jihoon, I can read your mind,” Junhui said blandly. Jihoon turned back to look up at Junhui. “And  _ no _ , getting alcohol poisoning won’t prevent you from taking the test,” he added.

Jihoon sighed and slumped down in his chair, hands coming up to cover his face. A very inhuman groan escaped between his fingers as he slipped further down the chair and eventually onto the floor. Now, underneath the table and head pressed against the cold tile, he asked, “Junhui, what would it take for you to snap my neck right now?”

Junhui thinks if this is what it’s like to take care of humans, he’s glad he spends most of his time in the demon world. Instead of answering, he just pulls back the chair so he can sit next to Jihoon on the floor. Jihoon looks up at him, eyes empty.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Junhui asks.

Jihoon shook his head and sighed, hiding his face in the crook of his elbow. “I don’t wanna talk for the rest of my life,” he said, voice muffled by his arm.

“That won’t be possible, you’re a chatterbox,” Junhui jokes as a hand goes to lazily twirl a piece of Jihoon’s hair between his fingers. Jihoon peaked out from behind his arm, unamused. Junhui stuck his tongue out at him, and he snorts lightly.

Junhui swiftly stood up and started tugging on Jihoon’s arm. “Okay now that the ice is broken, you need to go to sleep,” Junhui said as he dragged Jihoon out from under the table.

Jihoon whined, and Junhui wasn’t sure if he sounded like a hurt puppy or a bratty child.

“I don’t wanna sleep,” Jihoon continued to whine and was making it difficult for Junhui to drag him by thrashing around on the floor, so instead, he picked him up. Jihoon still thrashed, but now his arm wouldn’t come out of its socket from his own hissy fit, so Junhui was satisfied.

“But you need to sleep,” Junhui said as he carried Jihoon to his bed.

Junhui laid Jihoon down in his bed and pulled the covers over him while Jihoon grumbled something about Junhui not being his mom and Junhui swore he saw Jihoon flip him off at least three times.

Despite his apparent ungratefulness, Jihoon still settled down. He still had a test tomorrow, a big one worth 25% of his grade, and if he failed, he would lose his scholarship and be booted back to Korea with his tail between his legs and his parents disappointment looming over him for the rest of his life- and, yeah, that was a lot of stress to put on a 24 year old broke college student, but Jihoon could deal with it. Jihoon knew that future sober him would be thankful for Junhui making past him stop drowning himself in alcohol, so he promised himself to apologize for the cold shoulder treatment in the morning.

For now, though, Junhui just tucked Jihoon in and patted him on the head, whispering a soft “get some sleep” in his ear before pecking his temple and going off to do whatever demons do at night. Jihoon didn’t know when they became so domestic, and something in his heart ached, but he just blamed that on the soju.

 

* * *

 

 

They got into a routine. It was a simple routine, but one that made Jihoon’s life a little more bearable. Every morning, Junhui would wake Jihoon up sohe wouldn’t have to deal with the annoying blare of his phone’s alarm, the time depending on whether he had classes or not. Junhui would make sure Jihoon showered, would remind him to eat when he was studying or composing or doing homework, and would keep him company when he spent days indoors. The company would be in silence some days, when Jihoon was too exhausted to hold up a conversation, and other days would be filled with stories and jokes and banter when Jihoon felt better.

It was a routine that Jihoon got a little to used to for the short time that it was implemented.

“Hey, Jihoon,” Junhui said the day before exactly a month was up. (Jihoon didn’t know when he started keeping track of the days). “Why did you want me to kill that kid?”

It was a question that Jihoon expected. Admittedly, he expected it to come a lot sooner, especially since he made a point to  _ not _ think about it, but he still didn’t really know how to answer it.

He  just shrugged, letting out a vague “I dunno.”

“Jihoon,” Junhui said, almost sternly, “You don’t summon a demon to kill a classmate for a mundane reason. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.”

Jihoon sighed and leaned back in his chair, work forgotten for the time being. “No, it’s not that, it’s just- well, it’s complicated.” Junhui looked ready to listen and gestured for him to explain, so he did. “I’ve had him in class since I came here. Even before I was fluent in English, I knew he talked shit about me and he always made fun of my accent, which is like, ya know, this isn’t junior high, why are you bullying someone for learning English? But, he also made fun of my height and he always talked shit about gay people. He made me feel unsafe. The day before I summoned you, he was talking about crashing a gay march that was going to happening downtown the next week and he mentioned being really violent and I got scared. I thought, hey if I kill him, I might save lives and I knew he wasn’t that good of a person, so what would the world have to lose if he died.”

Junhui blinked at Jihoon, absorbing the information and nodding in understanding. “Do you regret me killing him?” he asked.

Jihoon hummed in thought before shaking his head. “Not really, no,” he said, “He was an ass and I feel a lot safer in class now that he’s not there.”

Instead of reprimanding Jihoon on respecting human life, even those who threatened your own, he smiled and said, “I’m glad you feel safe.”

That was the last real conversation they had. Jihoon went to sleep that night, almost forgetting, but when he woke up on his own, with no bright voice to greet him, he felt empty.

He didn’t like being alone anymore.

 

* * *

 

Gray smoke filled the air, making Jihoon squint and cough, but as it cleared, he could make out a vague moving shape. He leaned closer, but before he could get a better look, the shape morphed and shifted into an anthropomorphic figure, barely visible in the yellow streetlight.

Jihoon looked up at the familiar figure in front of him. The smoke from the incantation settled around them, allowing Jihoon to finally see Junhui’s face.

“Took you long enough,” Junhui said, holding out a hand to help Jihoon off the ground.

Jihoon brushed the grass off his jeans and shook his head. “Two weeks is  _ not _ that long, to be honest. Do you know how hard it is to prepare for a summoning?”

“I can imagine,” he grinned as he tugged on Jihoon so they could go up to his apartment.

Jihoon coughed and pulled back on Junhui, making him turn to look at him. “Um, Junhui, I- uh- I missed you,” he said awkwardly. He was never good with feelings.

Junhui just smiled, and slipped an arm around Jihoon in an almost-hug. “I missed you, too,” he whispered into Jihoon’s ear before kissing his cheek fondly.

**Author's Note:**

> also i almost forgot to mention if ur going to summon a demon pls be careful and dont treat them like jihoon did they cant all be as nice as junhui (i did too much research to write this lmao)
> 
> [my writing/shipping blog](http://polybooseoksoon.tumblr.com/)


End file.
